Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1091: An Unknown World

Heaven and earth spun chaotically. The cosmos was infinite. Space seemed to go on forever, only to contract to a minute size an instant later. Time stretched out endlessly, only to shrink down a moment after that. They were connected, fused, forming a massive, mysterious vortex that gobbled up Xu Qing’s Sageheaven Pagoda.

Terrifying power erupted, forming a majestic force of attraction that surpassed the level of all tempests and could crush anything and everything. When it hit the pagoda, it exerted an influence on the forward path of the pagoda.

In comparison, the pagoda was like a tiny rowboat being swept along by a massive, furious wave. In the blink of an eye, the extra levels Zhang San had added to the pagoda all exploded into rubble. The rubble was then wiped out of existence, turning into ashes that dissipated in the vortex of time and space.

After losing all of the modifications that had been added on, it was back to its original form. It was a dilapidated pagoda, speeding along within the power of the vortex. The pagoda rotated on its own, but was also being spun by the power of the vortex, creating a chaotic sensation.

In fact, if you looked closely, you would realize that the pagoda was actually spinning faster than the vortex. That was the result of the interaction between the two things. The two different speeds led to a terrifying pulling sensation that made Xu Qing feel like he was rocketing forward at incredible speed.

Though he was seated cross-legged inside the pagoda, he was actually floating and spinning. He wasn’t in control of anything. What was more, he was actually spinning even faster than the pagoda.

It was because of the differences in the physical nature of everything involved. Put plainly, the vortex, the pagoda, and Xu Qing were all rotating at different speeds. The resulting pulling force was naturally intense. Xu Qing was trembling as if he was being torn apart. But what hurt even more was his soul.

It was hard for him to assess what exactly he was feeling. When he scanned himself, he experienced both clarity and blurriness. It was even the same with his perception of the color of his surroundings when he looked at them with divine will. Sometimes there were two colors. Sometimes there were nine colors. Sometimes there was no color. Sometimes it was pure chaos.

Numerous images appeared in his mind. His eyes weren’t open. The palace lord of the Summer Immortal Palace had warned Xu Qing that this would happen when he asked her for information about the Primeval Sea. Because Xu Qing’s cultivation base wasn’t actually strong enough to go through the passage, she had told him not to open his eyes. That was why he was keeping them tightly shut.

Going through the passage would take a long time. It was almost like journeying into a bottomless abyss.

Xu Qing wasn’t even sure how much time had passed. All he knew was that the pain kept increasing. In fact, he was reaching the point where he almost couldn’t feel his own body, as if he wasn’t himself. It was the same with his soul. His perceptions were descending into chaos. All of the torment was pushing him into an intense sensation of deadly crisis.

This isn’t going to work. The vortex, the pagoda, and I are all rotating at different speeds. And if it keeps up… either the pagoda will explode or I’ll explode. And the latter is the more likely of the two. I’ve experienced something like this before!

His body felt like it was being ripped apart, and his soul felt like it was going out of control. At that point, he bit his tongue, using the pain to stimulate himself and stabilize his mind. It didn’t do much, and it only lasted for a moment. However, that was all the time he needed to recall the time he had felt something similar to this.

It was… back when his human nature, godly nature, and animal nature had erupted back in the Moonrite Region.[1]

Back then, he had descended into chaos and had been unable to stabilize. And he had reached a point where his soul had been about to explode. He had resolved the situation by finding an anchor! That was how he had regained balance and stabilized his mind.

Anchor… balance….

Back when he had been in chaos because of his human, godly, and animal nature, the anchor he had found was determination and regret revolving around the lifespan flower.[2]

What about now…?

A few breaths of time passed, and then determination filled him. He had to ignore the warnings of the palace lord. If things kept on as they were, he could very well die. He had to take control. His eyes suddenly opened.

He looked around the Sageheaven Pagoda and felt incredibly dizzy. From his perspective, the pagoda was spinning around him. But he was also spinning, causing his sensation of chaos to grow even more intense.

Eyes growing increasingly bloodshot, he unleashed his cultivation base and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Then he threw his hands out wide and used his cultivation base power to adjust the speed of his rotation. After several dozen attempts, and after having coughed up numerous mouthfuls of blood, he managed to slowly adjust his rotation speed to match that of the pagoda. The moment they synced up, the tearing sensation in his body and soul reduced significantly.

He was now at a state of balance with the pagoda. This was the anchor Xu Qing had thought of. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Me, the pagoda, and the vortex are all spinning differently. Balance is the anchor! Now I need to get myself and the pagoda moving in sync with the vortex.

Not daring to relax for an instant, he made some inner analyses, then used the god vine to start making adjustments to the pagoda.

Time passed. It was hard to say how much. But eventually, his careful work resulted in the pagoda reducing the speed of its rotation. It soon reached a state of sync with the vortex. The moment it happened, Xu Qing… suddenly felt very peaceful, even though he knew that he was still rotating at high speed.

As the feeling of peacefulness filled him, he looked out of the pagoda. He saw the majestic vortex, and he saw what appeared to be time flowing past. And he saw the interchange of countless nodes of space. He also saw images from history within the vortex, mixing with images of the future. In fact, he was fairly certain he could see himself….

Before he could confirm it, the power of the vortex caused space and time to fuse. Rumbling sounds filled the vortex, filled the pagoda, and filled his mind.

Next, he and the pagoda slipped into the vortex. They vanished.

Intense rumbling filled Xu Qing, and he lost control. He lost consciousness.

***

It was an unknown star ring. An unknown world.

The lands were yellow and dry, covered with a spider web of crevices in all directions. The sky was pitch black. However, there were three eyeballs up above, staring down malevolently at the lands below.

There wasn’t much light in the world. There were just the three eyeballs like moons, sending out faint light. The place was hazy and deathly silent.

A day passed and another eyeball appeared overhead. Not long after there were four eyeballs in the sky, a vortex appeared on the shattered ground. The vortex only existed for a moment of time before vanishing. It left behind a dilapidated pagoda.

Inside the pagoda, Xu Qing opened his eyes. His eyes looked blank at first, but they quickly became clear. He looked around with vigilance.

He frowned. He had no idea if this was the Fifth Star Ring or not. Although the chances were high it was, the sight of his surroundings left him wondering. Based on his understanding, considering he had been traveling by means of the Primeval Sea, the most logical thing to conclude was that he would emerge in the Primeval Sea in the destination star ring.

He instinctively looked at his shoulder. Starfire was there, and for some reason had turned into an actual clay fox statue that sat motionless on his shoulder.

Xu Qing checked his injuries. They were significant. Instead of choosing to leave the pagoda, he sat down to meditate. Two days later, his injuries were on the way to being fully healed. He opened his eyes again. Shortly after, he stood and walked out. Once outside, he looked up into the dome of heaven to see six eyeballs there.

“One new one per day?” he murmured.

There was no wind. Nor did he sense any auras. It was as if this entire world was completely withered up. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation. Back before he joined Seven Blood Eyes, he had roamed the wilderness of South Phoenix for years. The big difference was that he had been a mortal back then.

First I need to see what this world is like. I need to look for living beings. And then I need to figure out if this is the Fifth Star Ring. If it is the Fifth Star Ring, I need to get to the Immortal Capital. If it’s not….

Wrapped up in his thoughts, he put away the dilapidated pagoda. After going through the vortex, the pagoda was on the verge of crumbling into rubble. Considering he would need it to get back to the Ninth Star Ring, he chose not to use it for the time being.

After I confirm which star ring I’m in, I can try to find a place to get it repaired.

Without any hesitation, he began moving, keeping his guard up. The search had begun.

A day later, a seventh eyeball appeared overhead. The light it emanated was very much like the color of blood.[3]

However, Xu Qing was not within that blood-colored light. He was in a subterranean cavern. And that was where he encountered a huge coffin. It was covered with sealing marks, magical symbols, and chains. What was more, it was in the middle of a huge spell formation. The rotation of the spell formation was extracting lingering life force from the coffin to nourish the surrounding world.

The sight of it caused Xu Qing’s pupils to constrict.

There’s a god in that coffin….

He slowly backed up. Another day passed and an eighth eyeball could be seen in the sky. The blood-colored light grew stronger.

Xu Qing stood atop a mountain, at the foot of which was a city. Thanks to the blood-colored light, the city seemed gruish and inauspicious.

He looked thoughtfully at it. He had been to many places during the last two days besides the cave with the coffin. And he had seen living beings. They weren’t human. However, they vaguely resembled humans, with blue skin and triangular pupils.

Most of them were cultivators. And yet, whether they were cultivators or not, they were all emaciated, with very weak life force. Their listless eyes made them seem like the walking dead.

The cultivators here… were not very strong. None were beyond the Nascent Soul level. In fact, Xu Qing could tell that within this city, the strongest three people were Nascent Soul cultivators.

Don’t tell me this is a minor world? Given how that coffin is drawing from that god to nourish the surrounding world, this place shouldn’t be in this state.

He thoughtfully walked down into the city. The local cultivators couldn’t tell that a stranger was walking among them. The cultivation base disparity was too great. Unless Xu Qing wanted them to sense him, they wouldn’t be able to. And thus, Xu Qing walked about, studying the pedestrians, the shops, and the cultivators. Without exception, everyone was withered and emaciated. And they all seemed to emanate an aura of despair.

Even as Xu Qing looked up at the eight eyeballs in the sky, he reached a shrine hall on the far side of the city. There were more cultivators here than elsewhere, and the exquisite nature of the architecture caught Xu Qing’s attention.

He entered the shrine hall and saw the shrine at the far end. There were nine blood-soaked eyeballs on it.

The frescoes on the wall depicted various myths and legends. This was what Xu Qing had been looking for. Information. Looking at the frescoes told him the story of this world.

It had once been a peaceful place. But some years ago, an evil sun had appeared in the dome of heaven. When īt appeared, the world became withered and full of death. All living beings suffered. When they were in the depths of despair, nine heroes appeared. They killed the evil sun, though they were grievously injured in the process.

Those nine heroes became heavenly daos. They turned into nine eyeballs that safeguarded the living people of the world. However, because they had been injured so badly, their protection couldn’t last for very long. Every nine days, they needed to replenish their life force.

As for the living people, in order to show their gratitude, they would willingly sacrifice some of their life force to the nine eyeballs whenever they appeared together at the same time.

Nine eyeballs. Nine heroes. And that god under the ground is probably the evil sun from the legend. But who exactly were the nine heroes?[4]

Xu Qing looked away from the frescoes and the legends. It seemed to him that the legend of the world could very well just be an excuse to make it easier to harvest life force.

That said, at least I have some clues to work with now.

He vanished from the shrine hall and appeared atop the mountain. Expression placid, he sat down cross-legged to continue working on his injuries. At the same time, he waited for the ninth eyeball to appear. He was quite certain that once the ninth eyeball was there, he would be able to see this world much more clearly.

1. The situation with the human nature, godly nature, and animal nature started in chapter 619. ☜

2. The lifespan flower as the anchor was in chapter 622. ☜

3. The Chinese characters I’m rendering as ‘eyeballs’ are actually the common ones normally translated as simply ‘eye.’ However, I want to differentiate them from Seven Blood Eyes. In reality, Seven Blood ‘Eyes’ would most accurately be rendered Seven Blood ‘Pupils.’ In the end, I went with ‘eyes’ as my translation choice because A) it sounds better, B) the sect was described as having seven literal eyes on the mountains (not just pupils), and C) I had no idea that something like 1,000 chapters later in a chapter the author hadn’t written at that point, there would be another situation with a specific number of blood-colored eyes. There is not supposed to be an obvious linguistic connection between them. Incidentally, the text does not make it clear what exactly they look like. Do they look like literal spherical eyeballs, or do they look like an eye drawn on a piece of paper? We don’t know. It could go either way, and the text never makes it clear. And in the end, there is not supposed to be a connection between Seven Blood Eyes and the eyeballs in this chapter. ☜

4. Another linguistic note here. There are different words that can be translated as hero. For example, the “xia” character from wuxia/xianxia is sometimes rendered as hero, and that “xia’ character is sometimes used as a form of address in wuxia/xianxia. The term in this chapter, however, is not ‘xia.’ It’s the most literal and common word for hero, the very same one that is used in the term “superhero” in Chinese. This isn’t particularly relevant, but since many of you are familiar with how ‘xia’ and ‘hero’ are used in these novels, I figured I would elaborate a bit. If I was reading a translation, I would be wondering which version was being used…. ☜